The Baby
by 8belles
Summary: From "Sin Eater" why was there a doll in the pram when Katrina contacted Abbie for help? Abbie has a dream and strikes an emotional nerve with Ichabod and his past. One Shot


**A/N… after watching "The Sin Eater" I was curious about the baby crying in the pram and that Katrina said the house was a shadow of the one she and Ichabod lived in. Did Ichabod and Katrina have a child? I am sure the show will let us know… but here is my take on it. **

The Baby

_What a day_, Abbie thought wearily peeling off her clothes and dropping them in a heap near her hamper. Irving was harassing her about any new leads on the Horseman, her sister was not being the 'good patient' that Abbie was counting on and Ichabod was lost in Corbin's files, looking for _something_. To top it all off, she felt like she had ghosts watching her all day.

Forgoing her usual nighttime routine of a cup of tea and surfing the Internet, she slipped on her pajamas, brushed her teeth and hopped into bed. Sleep came mercifully to her, but the dream was most unwelcome.

The smell of dust and decay filled Abbie's nose. She recognized that she was in the house Katrina showed her when she was contacted to get the Sin Eater. The floor creaked ominously as Abby shifted her weight. Why was she here again? Did Katrina have another message? Was Ichabod ok? The high, thin, melancholy notes of the child's lullaby played just down the hall. A baby's cry was heard. Abby remembered it was a doll in the stroller she saw, just before the horseman had chased her down the stairs.

Looking at her dream body, she saw she had no weapon, just her sleeping clothes on. "Katrina?" she called in her dream hoping to get some response, "Katrina?"

Hearing nothing, she decided to walk down the quasi-familiar hallway toward the baby's room and the crying. Cobwebs grabbed at her hair and the floor sounded even more unsound than the last time. A chill moved through the home as she approached the threshold of the baby's room. There was the pram, the crib with the redcoat doll tied to the post with a noose around its neck and the ethereal lullaby music. Stepping into the room, Abbie expected to see the doll again in the pram but when she rounded the edge of the stroller, she jumped back suddenly in surprise.

There nestled in the stroller was a plump baby boy with brown curls looking up at her with bright blue eyes. He looked a lot like Ichabod. The baby didn't cry now, but gave a small laugh as he chewed on his fingers.

"_This house is a shadow of the one I once shared with my husband, Ichabod."_ Katrina's disembodied voice floated through Abby's dream. All of a sudden Headless jumped up from behind the stroller and raised his axe over the baby, who didn't make a sound.

Screaming, Abbie sat up in bed, chest heaving from her dream. The clock said 2:20 am but Abbie felt like she'd be up all night. Shuffling to the bathroom, she took a quick shower to wash off the sweat from her dream and to try to relax. Sliding back into bed, the rest of the night was a quiet one.

Ichabod was hunched over a desk, deeply in thought with a text of illuminated manuscripts. Abbie had two coffees and some of Ichabod's new favorite breakfast treats: doughnuts. She politely cleared her throat and he paused his reading and looked up. Holding the bag of pastries up and the coffee, she approached.

"Leftennant, so nice of you to bring breakfast, despite the horrendous levy upon it." he thanked her and sipped the coffee.

"Anything for you, partner." she replied yawning widely.

Ichabod regarded her for a moment as he munched on his vanilla cake doughnut, " Did you not sleep well, Miss Mills?"

Abby rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands feeling the steel bands of exhaustion wind their way around her skull, "No, not particularly."

"May I inquire as to why?" he replied looking at her with almost a piercing gaze.

" I had a bad dream." Abbie replied simply and tried to brush it off and look busy. The thought of Ichabod having a son was making her uncomfortable.

" Was it the demon? If so we can vanquish him again!" Ichabod said bravely leaning toward her in concern.

"No. Nothing that exciting." she responded taking out some scrolls and preparing to lay them out.

"Pardon for be being so forward, Leftennant, but as you know, these are extraordinary times. Your dream could have meaning." he pressed.

Finally, grouchy Abby had enough and locked blood shot eyes with him, "I dreamed I saw your son last night!"

Ichabod moved back suddenly as if she were a snake that had just bitten him. He paled in color and looked everywhere but at her. Swallowing to clear his throat after a moment, "Ms. Mills, I'm sorry. You dreamed I had a … son?"

Abbie recounted the house Katrina had shown her when she contacted Abbie in the first place and how there was a happy baby boy in the stroller. When she had finished, it felt better than to have all that bottled up inside her. Now it was Ichabod's turn to look upset.

"I'm sorry, Ichabod. I know that after 200 years your son is…. Gone." Abbie felt as inadequate as the words leaving her mouth, but she felt the need to say something.

Ichabod again composed himself quickly, a skill Abbie was very jealous of, and replied, "No. I never saw him."

"Pardon?" Abbie replied, frowning slightly.

Inhaling a careful breath, Ichabod said, " Katrina became pregnant shortly after our marriage." He paused again to swallow and compose himself gripping the edge of the desk tightly with white knuckles, " We were overjoyed! And then General Washington sent me on several spying missions and I was away for a long time and when… it happened."

Abbie waited to see if he was going to volunteer the "what" part of that statement. When he didn't she asked, "What had happened?"

Ichabod gazed at Abby with such pain in his eyes; it appeared he was going to cry, "Katrina sent me a letter when she could that she had … lost. Lost the baby."

"Oh, Ichabod." Abbie said and closed the space between them taking him into a hug. He held onto Abbie as if he was going to part this earth again and a stifled sob escaped him, "Let it out, Ichabod. You've been holding that in for too long."

Against all his education and schooling, he let the sudden and unexpected flow of tears out of his tortured soul. Did Katrina send that dream to Abbie for a reason? Was it to unburden his heart from all the grieving he was not permitted in over two hundred years? Regardless, he was amazed at the tumult of emotion pouring forth from Abbie's mention of his unborn child.

Once he felt more in control, he pulled back and Abbie handed him a tissue. Gladly, he accepted it and wiped his eyes and nose. "What did he look like?" Ichabod asked, his voice hoarse from crying.

Abbie paused and closed her eyes actually willing that part of the dream back into her mind's eye, " He has brown curls and blue eyes and the cutest chubby cheeks. He is sucking on his fingers and cooing at me."

Opening her eyes, she saw Ichabod doing the same to imagine the boy he never got to know.

"Thank you." he said warmly.

"You're welcome." Abbie replied and gave his arm a squeeze.

Abbie returned to here reading and Ichabod to his. After a moment, Ichabod looked up and offered, "His name… is name was going to be Abraham."

The flash of the horseman above the carriage caught Abby by surprise but she didn't reveal it, " A lovely and strong name."

"Yes, it was." Ichabod agreed and gave Abbie one of his famous weighted, sad smiles.

" You would make a great father." Abbie offered.

"Thank you. I'd like to think Katrina would agree." Ichabod replied, the evidence of his emotional outburst barely visible, as if it didn't happen.

Abby couldn't find any thing else to say, and was fairly sure there was nothing to add. But somewhere in the corner of her heart, she heard a happy baby coo and knew that maybe Katrina was playing games or just wanted to let her husband have some peace. Abbie chose the latter.


End file.
